Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
THURSDAY, February 4 (Cornelius the Centurion)
EDITOR'S NOTE: 2010 marks the 75th anniversary of Forward Day by Day. To commemorate this milestone, the meditations from February 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011 feature reprints of the most outstanding meditations from our past 75 years. The year each meditation was originally written is included at the end of the meditation. To learn more about our anniversary and the selection process for these meditations, click here. We encourage you also to share your comments about these classic meditations below. Our editor, Richard Schmidt, will be responding to comments for these meditations.
Genesis 23:1-20. I am a stranger and an alien residing among you.
As I walked down the cathedral's huge center aisle, I saw large black and white photographs on the wall--pictures of frightened men and women with yellow stars on their clothing; children with wild, questioning eyes; cattle cars crammed with people. As I approached the chancel I saw a statue of a human being dying in agony--his arm stretched to heaven as if to make one last plea for confirmation that mercy and goodness existed somewhere in the world.
The occasion was a service for Yom HaShoah, commemorating the Jews murdered before and during World War II. I ached to think that centuries of Christian animosity had played a role in "the Final Solution." The church had played a part by negating all things Jewish--its spirituality, experience, identity, and validity.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote that "faith has need of the whole truth." As we seek to grow in our understanding of our tradition, we must also learn the darker side of the church's history, so that we do not carry those mistakes into our present or our future. (1990)
PRAY for the Diocese of Arochukwu/Ohafia (Province of The
Ps [70], 71 * 74; Hebrews 11:32-12:2; John 6:60-71
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